Healing Power of Art for Recovery How Art Helps Heal Addiction

This project can also promote mindfulness and introspection. Writing about your loss and your feelings may also help you cope with intrusive thoughts, negative emotions, and emotional overwhelm, as research from 2010, 2012, 2019, 2021, and 2022 indicates. In fact, journaling has repeatedly been linked to emotional release and processing. Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy that incorporates creative activities, such as painting, dancing, or clay molding, as a means for a person to express freely. Although these artistic activities may provide some relief, they aren’t a substitute for professional support. If you’re having a difficult time and feel grief is impacting one or more aspects of your life, consider reaching out for help.

For example, you could ask about what the body of water might represent for them, or how sturdy and reliable their bridge is, and what it’s like to be where they are in the drawing. However, for this art therapy activity, the contents of the box is the star so the premade option works well and saves time. According to an article published in the American Journal of art therapy ideas for adults in recovery Art Therapy (2001) on using boxes in art therapy, boxes are a promising therapy tool. In fact, Farrell-Kirk (2001) states that “the use of boxes to enclose and conceal contents, create a new realm of space, and unite opposites makes the box effective in therapy. Due to the symbolic value of these characteristics, the box has been utilized throughout art history.

Art Therapy Techniques and Approaches

In fact, this form of therapy is currently used in 36.8 percent of addiction treatment programs. You can find it in many different settings, including residential recovery centers, medical facilities, schools, psychiatric units, and community mental health centers. It can help clients clarify thoughts and feelings and forge a deeper connection to their needs, aspirations, and goals. This activity can also be continued between sessions as an adjunct to therapy then discussed during sessions. In this article, expressive arts therapist Shelley Klammer explains the wider benefits of expressive journaling.

• Ask them how their meaning has shifted and how their new frame will serve them.
• It gives dimension and color to our lives, and can teach us in different ways.
• Mandala making or coloring can be a wonderfully meditative exercise for emotional expression, centering, and self-soothing.
• Whether you like to paint, write music, or doodle in your journal, art may be the tool you need to bolster your recovery journey.
• It could also be a personal experience or a part of a larger project preserved for public exhibition.

Research from 2016 indicates that mindfulness helps regulate emotions, which could help you manage sadness or anger when grieving, for example. Depending on your coping skills and circumstances, you may need more or less support to process your loss. You might find relief in creating art on your own, or you might consider working with a therapist who specializes in art therapy. Expressive arts therapy has been proven an effective approach for addressing substance use disorders. It helps individuals confront self-destructive thoughts, painful emotions, and deep traumas caused by various factors like physical abuse, depression, or drug and alcohol abuse.

Trauma Treatment to Release Stuck Memories

Completing monotypic casts on a separate sheet with a search for deep saving meanings is a very effective art therapy crafts. Close your eyes and imagine a planet in space. This exercise and similar examples of art therapy develop imagination, fine motor skills, relieve emotional stress.